lt is one of the most haunting photos in the Edmonton Journal archives: a picture of Thomas Svekla, dressed in a green camouflage jacket and tinted round sunglasses, smiling tauntingly at the camera, his finger held to his lips. “Shhhh,” he seems to be saying. “I’ve got a secret.”

Trudeau comments in 2010 video suggest anti-Alberta bias

LIberal MP Justin Trudeau speaks to a supporter at a fundraiser for the Liberal candidate running in the by-election in Calgary - Centre. Trudeau was photographed July 5, 2012 in Calgary.

Photograph by: Grant Black
, Calgary Herald

Video has emerged in which Liberal leadership candidate Justin Trudeau appears to say Canada is struggling because Albertans control the social agenda, and that the country would be better served with more Quebecers in power.

The two-year-old interview has resurfaced only days after another Liberal MP, David McGuinty, set off a storm of controversy for saying Albertan MPs should take a nationwide view of energy policies or go home.

Not only do the Trudeau comments threaten the Liberals’ hopes to steal a seat in Calgary during a byelection next week, they also threaten to hurt months of effort to put aside the party’s strained relationship with western Canadians and start anew.

Much of the French-language interview with Tele-Quebec from November 2010 features a moustached Trudeau talking about bilingualism, the importance of Quebec culture in Canada and the need to defend it. At one point, Trudeau says Quebec shouldn’t try to close itself off from the rest of the country if it wants to protect its language and culture, but rather engage with all Canadians.

“Canada is struggling right now because Albertans are controlling the . . . social democratic agenda,” he adds.

When asked if he thinks Canada would be better served with more Quebecers in power than Albertans, Trudeau replies: “I’m a Liberal, so of course I think so.”

He goes on to say that the great prime ministers of the 20th century were Quebec MPs, including Jean Chretien, Brian Mulroney, Paul Martin and his father, Pierre Trudeau.

The Trudeau camp said Thursday his comments were taken out of context, but Conservatives are holding up the video as proof of a long-held, anti-Alberta bias within the Liberal party, which is hoping to steal a seat in the riding of Calgary Centre during a byelection on Monday.

“The Liberals are out masquerading as our friends but the Liberals are no friends to Alberta,” Conservative candidate Joan Crockatt said Thursday.

“Their true colours have been shown in the last couple of days, and they’re openly hostile. It’s almost like it’s in their DNA.”

But Liberal candidate Harvey Locke said the fact Trudeau’s old comments are being dredged up shows just how worried the Tories are about the Nov. 26 byelection vote.

“This resurrection of every comment ever made in the past is a sign of just how tight this byelection is between me and the Conservatives,” Locke said Thursday.

Locke noted the Conservatives have also had previous comments regarding different regions of the country used against them. For instance, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has long been criticized for once saying Atlantic Canada suffered from a “culture of defeat.”

Trudeau was attending an event in Chilliwack, B.C., on Thursday and wasn’t immediately available for comment.

But his campaign issued a statement saying: “The Conservatives are using out of context statements made years ago in a long interview. They are clearly concerned that they are losing the byelection in Calgary Centre and are resorting to smear campaigns to stop their slide.

“Justin knows that Calgary, Alberta and all of Western Canada are at the very heart of Canada’s future. That’s a message he has taken to every part of the country, from the beginning of the campaign. We need to get beyond the divisive politics of the Conservatives and include all Canadians.”

The remarks come one day after interim Liberal Leader Bob Rae admitted that McGuinty’s remarks would not help the party’s chances in Calgary Centre. The video of Trudeau could also be damaging.

Political analyst David Taras from Mount Royal University said the comments will revive suspicion towards the Liberals just as they’re trying to gain a foothold in Calgary after being shut out of the city for a generation.

He noted Trudeau has made several trips recently to Calgary to build bridges in Alberta, but “this is beyond rookie mistakes. That’s the kind of statement that comes from the gut.”

“We’re on the field here of a byelection and we have David McGuinty’s brain freeze, which I think will be damaging. This raises more question marks,” he said.

As for Trudeau’s explanation, Taras said it doesn’t directly address the views Trudeau exposed in 2010.

“We almost expect an apology, we almost expect him to say I was deeply wrong and this is unacceptable,” Taras said.

“When you insult a region of the country and talk in terms of those kinds of political divides, I think people expect a better explanation.”

Trudeau and other Liberal leadership candidates have being touring Alberta and other western provinces in an attempt to re-engage with the Western Canadians.

Crockatt said Trudeau’s comments can only help her campaign. The former political commentator said there’s a reason no federal Liberals have been elected in Calgary since 1968.

“It really makes it clear what the differences are between the Conservative party and the opposition parties,” she added.

Crockatt said even though Trudeau’s comments are from 2010, they still matter. “It’s not like it was 10 years ago.”

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